Thursday, October 30, 2008

PotC Online Celebrates Year One With Zombie Invasion [Pirates Of The Carribean Online]

Disney's Pirates of the Carribean Online is celebrating its one year anniversarry in much the same way all the other MMO's are celebrating this time of year, with a Halloween Spooktacular zombie invasion! Starting tomorrow the game world will fall into permanent darkenss, and when the moon reaches its fullest, players that don't take cover will be transformed into the shambling undead, forced to attack towns and one another in Jolly Roger's name.

In addition to yet another undead plague, the one year anniversary also sees the launch of a contest where players can submit a short video professing their love for the game in order to win a chance to meet the developers, complete with a three-day trip to Disneyland, a MacBook, an iPod Nano, and a visit to Walt Disney Studios. For more details, visit www.PiratesOnline.com.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN ONLINE CELEBRATES ONE YEAR OF PIRATING AND ADVENTURES ON THE HIGH SEAS

First Anniversary Marked With Legendary In-Game Halloween Event & Contest

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – October 30, 2008 – Disney Online today announced the one-year anniversary of Pirates of the Caribbean Online (www.PiratesOnline.com), an immersive massively multiplayer online game (MMOG), which allows players to fully experience the untamed and action-packed Pirate world captured in the popular film franchise. Pirates of the Caribbean Online provides ever-changing, open-ended adventures with thousands of other players in a unique blend of action, strategy and role playing. To celebrate, Pirates Online will bring mayhem to the Caribbean with a haunting in-game event and contest on "All Hollows Eve." Additionally, Walt Disney Pictures recently announced that a fourth installment of the hugely successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" films is officially in development.

Since the games launch in October 2007, players have achieved many milestones in world including:

• Ships Sunk – 121,602,136
• Hands of Blackjack Played – 19,815,360
• Number of Ship Repairs Completed – 33,829,645
• Tattoos Purchased - 288,547

"It's been a great year for Pirates Online, thanks in large part to our active, growing community," said Steve Parkis, senior vice president, Disney Online. "The feedback from our fans continues to inspire the Pirates team to create and deliver exciting new content and features that add to the authentic, rich and engaging world."

Over the past year, a myriad of new features have been added to the game that expand the world and the overall game experience, including:
• Privateering (Player vs. Player Ship Combat) - In the quest to become a Privateer, players chose a side – French or Spanish – and assemble a crew for Pirate vs. Pirate ship combat on the high seas. Pirate "Lords" on both sides challenge players with quests to prove their worth. Completing these tasks earns gold and reputation points and a tattoo that will brand survivors as Privateering veterans.
• New Customization Options - Adding to the millions of possible player combinations available at launch – gender, body type, face, hair, clothing and names – several new customizations options have been added including tattoos, jewelry, additional clothing items (new pants, hats, coats and coats inspired by members of the Brethren Court), and new hairstyles.
• Shops - Tattoo parlors, jewelry stores, and tailor shops have been added to the game.
• Enhanced Lookout System - An in-game system was added to match players up with others looking to engage in the same activity. Players can now instantly see their percentage of finding a match (high, medium, or low) to help determine how long it will take before a match is found. Players can also now get more closely matched with other players that are at the same notoriety level as themselves.
• Emotes - With the addition of emotes, players can communicate with others through actions such as dancing, laughing, clapping, celebrating, crying, flexing, waving, and more.
• New Quests & Enhanced Quest Tracking System - A number of new quests for Unlimited Access Pirates have been added, including Pirate's Life Quest, Clothing for a Pirate Quest, and Adoria's Family. Each outfit is available for Pirates of varying Notoriety levels. In addition, enhancements to the Quest Tracking System were made so that when players are in the "return to townsperson" stage of completing a Quest, they simply follow the ray of light and the yellow arrow at their feet to return to their townsperson.
• Ghost Ships - Nightmarish forces of evil and danger, players must keep their eyes out for these ill-fated vessels that are sure to challenge skills and nerves. The undead sailors are doomed to skulk around the waters of Isla Cangrejos and Cutthroat Island in their ominous ships – Shadow Crow, Cerberus, and Blood Scourge.
• "Looking for Crew" Feature - Allows players to tell other Pirates that they are interested in crewing up by placing a "Looking for Crew" message above their avatar's head.
• New Weapons – New level four and five weapons have been added, including different types and styles of voodoo dolls, daggers, voodoo staffs and pistols, which deliver more damage, faster reload rates and special effects.

To help celebrate the first anniversary and "All Hallows Eve," Jolly Roger will cast a wicked curse on the populace of the Caribbean and stir up an epic in-game event. Starting October 31, the Pirates of the Caribbean Online world will permanently turn to night, and when the moon is at its fullest, any Pirate that doesn't take cover will become cursed and turn into an undead skeleton. Chaos will ensue, and all of the cursed Pirates will be forced to attack the towns, and one another, all in the name of Jolly Roger.

In addition, a special anniversary contest will be held for all Basic Players and Unlimited Access members. The contest asks players to submit a short video documenting how much they love Pirates Online and demonstrating how they "Live the Pirates Life." The contest will commence today and run through December 19, and the finalists' videos will be posted on www.PiratesOnline.com. Players will have the chance to win exciting prizes including one grand prize: a chance to meet the Pirates Online crew and lead developer for a one-on-one Q&A and a lunch at Walt Disney Studios to see where the films are made. The winner will also receive a three-day trip to Disneyland and two nights stay at the Disneyland Hotel, with one night in the Pirates of the Caribbean Suite. A $100 shopping spree in the Pieces of Eight shop, MacBook and iPod Nano are also part of the loot.



http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/MVWE4gz8tc4/potc-online-celebrates-year-one-with-zombie-invasion

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Saturday, October 25, 2008

Launder That Money: RMTs in Asian MMOs [Crime]

A gold farming/money laundering ring in South Korea has been accused of moving somewhere in the neighborhood of $38 million USD from Korea to China (with the help of real money transactions). According to PlayNoEvil, they made false purchases to a Hong Kong paper company to move the money, which is what eventually led to their arrest. In addition to the ring leaders, an additional 11 people were arrested:

Charges were also filed against 11 Koreans who allowed the scheme to use their bank accounts for money laundering.

Jeong and his ring reportedly sold the game money illegally produced in China using cheap labor and virus programs. They are believed to have taken a commission of three to five percent of the money traded to purchase game money.

And you thought gold farming was a problem. The connection between the gold farming ring and the money laundering ring is unclear, but this is just one more example of RMTs being put to, uh, creative uses.

`Online Game Ring Smuggled Out $38 Mln to China` [donga.com via PlayNoEvil]

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/431940750/launder-that-money-rmts-in-asian-mmos

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Namco closing Hellgate on Jan. 31

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/category/pc/" rel="tag">PC</a>, <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/category/online/" rel="tag">Online</a>, <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/category/rpgs/" rel="tag">RPGs</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55546"><img width="490" vspace="4" hspace="0" height="224" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/07/hellgatelondon.jpg" alt="" /></a><br />
<div align="left">Namco Bandai has issued a statement saying that, come Jan. 31, the servers for Flagship Studios' stillborn online RPG, <em><a href="http://www.joystiq.com/tag/hellgate-london">Hellgate: London</a>, </em>will, <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/08/15/just-to-be-clear-flagship-studios-is-dead/">like its developer</a>, disappear forever. In effect, Namco will be closing the <strike>gate</strike> door on one of the more disappointing launches in role-playing history.<br /><br />In what the company calls a "gesture of support," those wishing to continue playing the game online until the lights come on and the bouncers shoo them out on Feb. 1 will be able to do so on the house.<br /></div>
</div><p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href=http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/55546>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/24/namco-closing-hellgate-on-jan-31/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.joystiq.com/forward/1352270/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/24/namco-closing-hellgate-on-jan-31/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/24/namco-closing-hellgate-on-jan-31/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p><div class="feedflare">
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Friday, October 24, 2008

LOTR Online: Mines of Moria - A Trip Through Durin's Way [Mines Of Moria]

Prepare Lord of the Rings Online fans. It's almost time for you to get your hands on Mines of Moria - the first expansion for the MMO - is coming November 18th. There will be plenty of new features to look forward to such as the game's level cap being increased, new items, and the addition of two new classes, Run-keeper and Warden. You'll also be able to have the option of purchasing a massive collector's edition with all sorts of goodies. In the mean time we got a new trailer which gives you a fly through the ruins in Durin's Way.

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/431229229/lotr-online-mines-of-moria-+--a-trip-through-durins-way

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Hellgate: London Slamming Shut On January 31st [Hellgate]

<p><img src="http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/kotaku/2008/10/img_15622_hellgate_london.jpg" align="left" hspace="4" vspace="2" width="494" height="371" style="display:block;float:none;" />Will the last Templar Guardian please turn off the lights and do whatever it is that you do to auras that makes them stop glowing - Hellgate: London is shutting down.</p> <p>Flagship Studio's troubled demon hunting MMO will be shut down at midnight on January 31st 2009. Namco Bandai, who have been running the Hellgate servers since Flagship went under, say that the game will be free to play until it is shut down.</p> <p>The game had been plagued with bugs and operational problems since its 2007 launch and eventually led to its developers, Flagship Studios, going out of business in July this year.</p> <p><a href="http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6199996.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6199996">Hellgate: London Closing January 31st</a> [Gamespot]</p> <br style="clear: both;"/>
<img alt="" style="border: 0; height:1px; width:1px;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?i=6926542f8d60d5d867bf98c7412717e2" height="1" width="1"/>
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http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/431087297/hellgate-london-slamming-shut-on-january-31st

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Enjoy Atlantica - Or Your Money Back!

NDOORS Interactive thinks you will LOVE the Atlantean MMORPG Atlantica Online. In fact it is so confident that it is offering to buy back your account for $20 if you are unhappy with the game.

Sounds great, no? Well, there is a slight catch - you need to be a Level 50 character or above. Anyone know how long it takes to get to Level 50 in Atlantica? We are willing to bet it is not something you could do in an afternoon.

If you don't at least tolerate the game by around level 20 it is probably a safe bet that you will not be taking NDOORS up on their offer. If, however you are disappointed with the game and decide on a bloody-minded attempt on claiming that refund please let us know in the comments and - if you can - mail us a photograph of the grim expression on your face as you crack the Level 50 barrier.

[Play Atlantica]

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/430039243/enjoy-atlantica-+-or-your-money-back

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Friday, October 17, 2008

Economic Problem, Blizzard Worry? No.

[reposted from Kotaku]

Have you heard? The economy is cratering! Imploding! Total meltdown! And World of Warcraft developer Blizzard Entertainment is impervious. As Blizzard exec Rob Pardo explains, the game industry isn't historically affected by economic troubles like other industries. Here's Pardo's full quote:

Historically for us, the game industry hasn't been affected by recessions like a lot of other businesses. I think the reason for that is [that] games really offer some of the best entertainment value on the market. People might not want to go out to the movies and spend $100 for a couple of hours and then go to a restaurant. You can go home and pay $15 a month for 100 hours of entertainment if you're staying at home more — and I think that's one of the reasons why you don't see games really go in the same recession as the rest of the economy a lot of times.

What about you? Will the economic pinch curb your game spending?

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/423338131/what-economic-problem-blizzard-worry-no

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Tuesday, October 07, 2008

All future SOE MMOs to release on consoles

Plan to be dominant players in the MMO space on consoles, says Sony Online Entertainment.
Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley has said that the developer is keen to become one of the dominant players in the growing MMO space on consoles.

Click here to read the full article

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=198705?cid=OTC-RSS&attr=CVG-General-RSS

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Monday, October 06, 2008

RF Online Going Offline

[reposted from Gamasutra via Kotaku]

The official website for Codemasters' sci-fi fantasy RPG RF Online has announced the the game will no longer be a going concern in North America and Europe as of the 9th of November.

"It is with much sadness that today we announce our intention to close the European and North American RF Online game servers operated by Codemasters. Our licence for RF Online is due to expire shortly and unfortunately, despite several weeks of negotiations with CCR, the Korean developers of the title, we have not been able to reach an agreement to renew the contract."

Poor game. Wasn't a big fan of the combat system, but I mourn the loss of cute anime elf girls no matter if they can fight in entertaining ways or not. My condolences to fans of the game, though considering it took us five days to hear about the closing I don't think they're listening

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/413006344/rf-online-going-offline

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Friday, October 03, 2008

Stargate Worlds Beta Launches October 15th [Beta Watch]

[Reposted from Kotaku]

In less than two weeks the Stargate will open, allowing the first group of closed beta testers into the world of the hit Sci-Fi Channel television program. The Stargate Worlds closed beta kicks off on October 15th, and the developers are confident that the game is entering the home stretch.

"From now until launch, everything we do is about polish and fun," said Stargate Worlds Studio Head Dan Elggren. "We've laid a great foundation for the beta testers and their feedback is a vital part of the game development process."

They'll be adding more testers as time goes on, so don't be shy about signing up for the beta over at register.stargateworlds.com/Registration/.



STARGATE WORLDS NEEDS NEW RECRUITS FOR CLOSED BETA

New Worlds Await Play Testers in MMO Based on Stargate License

MESA, Ariz. – Oct. 2, 2008 – The wait is almost over for the legions of Stargate and MMO fans waiting to experience the Stargate Worlds Closed Beta test. The gate opens Oct. 15 for the first group of testers.

Stargate fans can pick up their assault rifles and join Op-CORE as they take their first steps in Stargate Worlds. Beta sign ups are live at register.stargateworlds.com/Registration/. More testers will be invited to sign up over time, so it's not too late to put your name in the selection pool.

"From now until launch, everything we do is about polish and fun," said Stargate Worlds Studio Head Dan Elggren. "We've laid a great foundation for the beta testers and their feedback is a vital part of the game development process."

http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/410316739/stargate-worlds-beta-launches-october-15th

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Thursday, October 02, 2008

Blizzard awarded $6 million in Glider suit

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.joystiq.com/category/business/" rel="tag">Business</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7645059.stm"><img width="490" vspace="4" hspace="0" height="263" border="1" align="top" src="http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2008/10/wowgoldlimit.jpg" alt="" /></a><br /></div>
Blizzard has been awarded $6 million in damages from its suit against "bot" maker MDY Industries, the same suit it <a href="http://www.massively.com/2008/07/15/blizzard-victorious-in-wowglider-case/">won back in July</a>. MDY makes the World of Warcraft Glider software, allowing players to automate their avatars while they're AFK. The <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7645059.stm">BBC</a> reports that the Glider program cost $25 and it's believed the company sold around 100,000 copies.<br /><br />Not that Blizzard is done yet. The company originally wanted double or triple the damages awarded. The case actually goes back into litigation this January and Blizzard will push on some remaining issues, like whether MDY violated the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act and whether the Glider programmer will have to pay damages out of his own pocket.<br /><br />[Via <a href="http://www.massively.com/2008/10/01/blizzard-awarded-large-payout-in-wow-glider-case/">Massively</a>]<p style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;">&nbsp;</p><p><a href=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7645059.stm>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/01/blizzard-awarded-6-million-in-glider-suit/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.joystiq.com/forward/1329875/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.technorati.com/cosmos/search.html?rank=&amp;fc=1&amp;url=http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/01/blizzard-awarded-6-million-in-glider-suit/" title="Linking Blogs">Linking&nbsp;Blogs</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.joystiq.com/2008/10/01/blizzard-awarded-6-million-in-glider-suit/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a></p><div class="feedflare">
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